With Phoenix and Raphael once again distracted by the girls at the makeshift camp for the night, Alexander seized the moment and quietly slipped away to look for Ayla and Titan.
He didn't trust the new wolf, and he was curious about why it was taking them so long to find food.
For so long, she'd been focused on all the men chasing her, trying to kidnap her for their alphas, and now, all of a sudden, she'd run off willingly with this joke of a man, without any way of knowing if that wasn't exactly his plan.
Titan had basically led them right to the edge of an unfamiliar pack, vanished with her, and nobody batted an eye.
But not Alexander, he was determined to protect her, no matter what she said.
What he didn't realize was that the pair had stumbled into a cave far more impressive than the one he and Ayla had taken refuge in only weeks earlier.
Still, he caught Titan's scent and started following them, determined to show that he couldn't be trusted.
Inside the cave, Titan was closing in on Ayla, and she was powerless to escape.
The thing was, Ayla had never actually been helpless a single day in her life.
She closed her eyes to unwind, leaning her head back in an effort to let go of the stress from their recent trip.
Just as her head was about to touch the smooth surface, Titan grabbed her by the arms.
"Ahh," she let out a brief, sharp scream.
A small, innocent scream that echoed through the cave, bouncing out into the surrounding woods.
A faint sound that drifted its way to Alexander's ears.
Playful, yet unsettling enough to draw him in, suggesting that perhaps he wasn't entirely wrong to trust his instincts.
As Alexander followed the direction of the sound and the lingering scent, Titan wrapped his arms around Ayla, pulling her close.
It wasn't a crushing grip, just firm enough to draw her in and settle her into a straddling position over him.
Titan had been longing to hold her like this since they first met, and he knew better than to let her slip her legs between his again.
He just wanted to hold her close as his lover, even if only for a few minutes.
Now that he was with her, he leaned back until her body pressed against the wall of the spring.
He found the nape of her neck with his lips, giving a soft bite before trailing gentle kisses, holding her close enough to feel her breasts pressed against his chest.
"You feel amazing in my arms. I wish we could stay like this forever, so I would never have to let you go."
Her instincts began to take over as her lips found his neck, trailing soft kisses along the nape before giving a gentle, unconscious bite, her hips moving without thought.
"Do it, Ayla. I give you permission to bite me."
That pulled her back to reality a bit, her eyes fluttering as warmth flushed across her cheeks.
All at once, she realized what she was doing.
She tried to lower her arms, hoping to push herself away from his chest, but his thick biceps were in the way.
Though she struggled against his grasp, not truly wishing to be free, she chose to speak instead.
What do you mean by that? Why would you need to give me permission to bite you?
Titan's cheeks flushed a deep red, a reaction that didn't seem to happen to him very often.
He hadn't realized just how little she knew about their kind, but he was starting to piece it together.
"Don't worry about it. Not now."
He spoke as he pushed her back, holding her arms above her head with one hand.
A small rock at just the right height let him pin her hands there as he leaned in to kiss her neck.
His other hand stayed put firmly against her body, holding her close against him.
Again, as his kisses trailed up her neck toward her face, she felt herself slipping completely out of control.
Just behind them, near the cave entrance, there was a faint shuffling, but neither of them seemed to notice as they carried on with what they were doing.
Alexander followed the sound of the scream and the trail of scent to a cave, where he now watched as Titan approached Ayla with clear intent.
He was absolutely livid, yet he stood there, frozen in place.
He just stood there, watching them, his nostrils starting to flare.
Watching Titan mate with the love of his life before his very eyes.
'Not having sex with him, my ass,' he thought to himself.
Alexander felt his blood start to boil again as he stood there, watching Titan lean in to kiss the woman he had just been with not long ago.
When Titan hovered just a breath away from her lips, he hesitated, not quite ready to close the distance.
"Not yet. You're not ready," he whispered, leaning in to bring his lips close to her ear again.
She turned her head away, trying to shake off the feelings rushing through her and steady herself.
Ayla yanked her hands away from his and shoved him back.
"You can't? Can you?" She asked coyly.
He turned away from her, his eyes shifting to the cave's entrance.
With a raised eyebrow and a faint grin at Alexander, he dipped briefly beneath the water.
Something washed over Ayla in that moment, just before he did, and he caught it, and he wanted to make sure Alexander saw it too.
A small crack in her armor.
As he surfaced from the water, he locked eyes with Alexander for a fleeting moment before turning back to Ayla.
He wanted to be certain Alexander realized he was aware of the intrusion.
"No, this doesn't feel right. We've been here too long. Let's grab some dinner and take it back to the others. Come on, they're waiting for us."
As she wrapped up her words, she drifted away from Titan and headed for the steps, trying to get out of the water.
He caught Ayla's hand, tugged her back to him, and pressed his lips to hers in a kiss full of deep, undeniable passion that made clear just how much he wanted her.
As soon as he made his point, he let her go.
"Alright, let's take dinner back to camp. I'm sure everyone's there waiting for us."
Alexander didn't quite know what to make of what was happening in front of him, but he was certain of one thing.
Ayla hadn't been with Titan, but he was doing everything he could to change that.
At the same time, he needed to move it and get back to the others as quickly as possible.
The last thing he needed was for Ayla to find out he'd been spying on her.
In that moment, Titan glanced toward the entrance and caught Alexander's eye, lifting his left eyebrow ever so slightly.
It was the final warning for the Peeping Tom to leave before he spilled the truth to Ayla about what was happening.
Without a word, he bolted, leaving the two wolves alone in the cave, hoping Ayla wouldn't realize he had been there.
Maybe he'd get lucky, and Titan would keep quiet about having seen him.
For now, Alexander just needed to return to the others and feel grateful that Ayla was still the same girl he remembered.
That just made him feel even worse about the way he had acted when he found them together.
She had been innocent, and his jealousy made him act like an ass.
Did Titan kiss her because he knew that Alexander was there, though?
Would he still have done it if he had never gone to spy on them?
Ayla was still lightheaded and almost intoxicated from the kiss, eyeing Titan like he was a tempting treat she'd never had the chance to try.
He tasted amazing.
His lips were soft and warm, and she yearned to feel them against hers again.
Not entirely sure what she wanted anymore, she simply stood there, in the water between the steps and Titan.
She'd been staring at him, almost forgetting to blink.
"Shall we then? Get back to the others."
Ayla stayed silent, giving a slow, deliberate nod.
Titan started to walk ahead to help her out of the water, but she grabbed his hand to stop him.
Once his hand was in hers, she drew him closer and returned his kiss with the same passion he had given her.
She wrapped her arms around him, pulling her legs up to encircle him, and he held her close in his strong embrace.
They felt the energy flowing effortlessly between them, a connection that felt natural as the kiss grew deeper and more passionate.
After a few minutes, Ayla eased the kiss to a gentle stop before leaning back and clearing her throat.
"Okay, we really need to get back to the others. Let's go," she said, slightly breathless as she gathered herself.
Titan took a deep breath.
"Go ahead and start getting out; I'll be right behind you."
"Oh, what's wrong. We've taken too long as is. The others must be starved."
Titan closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and said, "They're not the only ones starving."
Ayla gave an exaggerated eye roll before hauling herself out of the water.
A few minutes later, Titan caught up, and together they set off to hunt, planning to return to camp with their catch.
As they headed back to the others, each carrying a mouthful of rabbits, Ayla had only one thing on her mind.
"What's the deal with the whole biting thing? Is it a big deal to bite someone, or is it an even bigger deal if you have permission?"
Titan knew it would come back up eventually, but he hadn't expected it to happen so soon.
"A bite is a sign of a mate, essentially a way to test if two individuals are meant for each other. If you have permission to bite someone and the bite sticks, it means you're fated mates. For those in higher ranks, like Alpha or Beta, it can sometimes take more than one bite to confirm the bond, or that's what the wolves say."
"So, you wanted to find out if I was your mate? Is that why you said I could bite you?"
Titan didn't feel like answering that.
He wanted to know, but he didn't want her to realize it and scare her away.
"It wasn't like that. Back then, it was more in the heat of the moment. Sometimes the wolf instinct just takes over. Our wolves were acting on their own, which is why we ended up giving each other little bites without even thinking about it."
Ayla could tell he was keeping something from her.
"So, you don't want me to be your mate then?"
"I never said that. I just mentioned that our wolves wanted us to bite each other, which is why I gave you permission. That's an important part of it."
Ayla paused for a moment, then went on.
"So what you're saying is, if I bit you without you telling me it was okay, it would just vanish, and you wouldn't know if I was your mate or not."
Titan paused to think it over.
"Honestly, I have no idea. Want to give it a shot and see what happens? I could always just bite you right now!"
In her wolf form, rolling her eyes was tough, smiling even more so, but she gave both a try.
"I'll let you know if I decide to."
"Well then, I'd have your permission, but we still wouldn't have the answer to your question, would we?"
At last, they rejoined the rest of the group, who were delighted to have some food to cook over the fire.
"Took you long enough," Phoenix said with a grin.
"Not even close," Raphael chuckled.
Alexander rolled his eyes and skewered two rabbits on sticks.
As quickly as he could, he was placing them over the fire; he was ready to forget the day ever happened.
"We figured he might have decided to bring you back to his pack," Rhae said with a smile.
"Wouldn't that be a riot?" Ayla remarked, glancing at Titan. "I have no idea what pack he's from. So, what pack are you with?"
Titan puffed out his chest, a proud look on his face as he began to speak.
Phoenix cut in, "Let's make this interesting. Since we've come across wolves from all over and know their scents, how about Raphael and me try to guess what pack you're from, and you can guess which packs we're all from?"
Titan smirked with even greater pride and asked, "Alright, so where am I from?"
Phoenix gave a little shimmy, sniffed the air, and then leaned in closer for another curious whiff.
"Hmm, I'm sensing a hint of arrogance, with just a dash of male…"
"Hey, behave!" Ayla said to Phoenix.
"Alright, alright. I'm picking up faint traces of snow and a hint of citrus. Have we come across anyone with that scent before, Raphael?"
"I don't think we have, maybe one or two. It must be a pack that usually keeps to itself, likely a mountain pack."
Titan tried not to give anything away, but a hint of a smile was tugging at the corner of his mouth.
He didn't want them to have any idea whether they were right, wrong, close, or completely off.
"That has to be it, but out of the three, which one? We're heading to one of them, and he doesn't smell like Stella. There's a hint of white pine in his scent, so he must be from the hidden Crescent Moon Pack. They never leave their territory, though. So why are you out here?"
"Reasons above your rank, Lieutenant."
They couldn't help but notice that he seemed to know who they were.
It only sparked more questions, and Raphael wasted no time in asking them.
"How can you tell he's a lieutenant?"
Titan dismissed his question and carried on, but Ayla's gaze stayed locked on him.
"My turn. Lieutenant and Major are both from Silver Moon. I can clearly catch the strong scent of the ocean on you both, mingled with the fresh, spruce-like aroma that feels like Christmas."
It was as if he could read the guys without even trying.
Raphael and Phoenix exchanged glances, eyebrows raised, while Titan continued speaking.
"The only others with a noticeable scent are your lady companions," he said, pointing first to Rhae.
"You carry two distinct smells: a dirty fir dusted with snow and a hint of vanilla almond beneath. That tells me you're trying to switch packs. Good luck with the Moonlight shifters."
Then he turned to Stella.
"You smell of snow-covered almonds dipped in vanilla. You're a Moonlight shifter."
The group all looked around at each other.
Why was Titan so good at picking up scents?
He was actually better than both Phoenix and Raphael.
Ayla was impressed by his skill, but it made her wonder how much of it relied on scent.
"You seem pretty skilled at picking up scents and tracking them, or maybe you already knew who we were before starting this game."
He flashed a mischievous grin.
Titan then turned his attention to her and Alexander.
"That would be cheating if I knew and didn't follow the scent. I have to admit, it's pretty strange that you two don't have any scent at all. The Moonlight Shifter scent is incredibly strong on her, though," he said, pointing to Stella.
"It's almost like it's everywhere. How much have you moved around since we got here?"
Stella glanced around at the trees.
"I actually haven't. I've been sitting in Phoenix's lap the whole time. If you're catching my scent all over the pack, it's not me."
Alexander couldn't keep his frustration in, muttering, "Ayla and her damn fires!"
Titan leaned in close to Ayla, his voice low enough for only her to hear.
"Bite me. It'll help both of us. Trust me. Just do as I say and bite me now."